Checkers players keep the game alive

Wayne "Notorious Bowlegs" Broderick and Ronnie "Most Wanted" James joined about 35 checkers enthusiasts from Florida and Georgia in an event hosted Saturday by the Ocala Players.

By Andy FillmoreCorrespondent

Wayne “Notorious Bowlegs” Broderick and Ronnie “Most Wanted” James joined about 35 checkers enthusiasts from Florida and Georgia in an event hosted Saturday by the Ocala Players at the Holiday Inn Express on South Pine Avenue.

About 15 checker boards were set up and the “clack” of game pieces being slapped down resounded around the room.

The Ocala Players invited fellow enthusiasts from Florida and Georgia for an afternoon of fellowship and checkers, said Al Miller, 50, one of the organizers. He said the local group includes players ages 26 to 92.

Chuck Betran, 84, of Ocala summed up why he loves the game: “It keeps me young,” he said with a hearty laugh.

The day-long event included prayer and dinner, interwoven with games of Spanish Pool Checkers.

Spanish Pool Checkers and American Pool Checkers are both terms for the same game, which includes a Spanish influence, according to American Pool Checkers Association President Clarence Gooch of Henderson, N.C. He said tournaments like the one in Ocala allow players to “share some camaraderie.”

Although the event was non-professional, Wayne Lockheart of Toledo, Ohio, tournament director for the association, said he knew some of the contestants.

“Some of the players at the tournament in Ocala may be at our national event July 9th through the 14th in Atlanta, where we expect about 100 players, including from the Bahamas and Russia,” Lockheart said.

Lockheart extolled the virtues of checkers, with intricate strategies keeping the mind active.

Odell Bright Jr., of the Jacksonville Checkers Club, has been playing more than 30 years and said it has been a satisfying pastime since his retirement from the U.S. Postal Service.

“In Spanish Pool Checkers, the king can jump in continuous squares. We use 64 squares and 12 pieces per player,” Bright said. “Everyone wants to win. We have an open house monthly at our club. We want to keep checkers alive.”

Joe Crapps of Sylvester, Ga., retired from Proctor and Gamble, came to the Ocala event with more than 20 years of experience.

“Checkers is a fun way” to pass time,” Crapps said.

“Don’t forget to mention my nickname, said Broderick, 59, from Lakeland. “I’ve been playing checkers for about 35 years.”

Broderick was engaged in a game with Curtis Houston, 26, a minister with New Chapel Missionary Baptist Church in Ocala, who was learning the game.

“It’s all about bragging rights,” Broderick said with a laugh.

“I beat that ham in the back corner,” he added, indicating James.

“A ‘ham’ is a weaker player,” James, 47, from Atlanta, said as he laughed and continued a game with Mike “Havilah” Adkins, 37, of Alapaha, Ga.

Expressions used in the game include “mugging,” or overwhelming an opponent in a standard set of five games, and “hooding,” or victory in 10 games, Gooch explained.

“The games are based on strategy,” Hodges said. “Players range from Blue Ribbon up to Top Master. You have to stay two or three moves ahead of your opponent to win.”

Adkins said a Top Master “might be five to 10 moves ahead” of his opponent mentally, as compared to five ahead for an average player.

Gooch expressed concern about the future of checkers because “young people like to play basketball and video games more than board games.”

But, added Miller, learning the game can be contagious.

“Two of my co-workers love the game,” said Miller, a seasonal worker with Progress Energy. “We set up two or three checker boards on lunch break.”

One of the co-workers, Ron Coker, said, “The Spanish Pool Checkers game is like chess, not like the checkers you may have learned as a kid. Al has been teaching us the game, and there are about six to 10 of us now playing. During a (power) outage when we have to stand by, we’ll pull out the checker board and play.”

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